I mean I don't recall January 2006 being nearly as crazy around here, not just with the 12s aspect which is off the charts now, but just overall regional enthusiasm. Is it just my aging memory? This place is for more nuts this time!

Russell Wilson to me is the main reason. His personality, story, character, class...He has it all and it's extremely difficult (unless your a hater) not to be moved and inspired by him. Add to that the great characters/personalities on our team and the great job the local media and even national media at times has done of allowing you to get to know the players behind the facemasks and you get that same successful marketing that the M's enjoyed ("You Gotta Love These Guys!") coming off the success of the 1995 magical season that captured the hearts of the city and beyond.

Social media is also a HUGE difference as well. The reach is global and instant.

There are three certainties in life. Death, taxes and the perpetual shuffling of the Seattle Seahawks offensive line.

I don't recall it being any less crazier than now. It was our first time, we had Alexander, Hass, Walter and Hutch. Everyone was pretty jacked up. I think what happened with the refs diminished people's memories of how excited they were back then.

Richard Sherman doesn't just wanna get in your head, he wants to build a vacation home there.

We overachieved so hard in 2005. A decade of .500-ish seasons and then bam...#1 seed, sneaking by the Skins and crushing a beat-up Panthers team. Alexander got yards but didn't get them with the panache that Lynch does. Hasselbeck was always on the cusp between decent and great (no thanks to We Want The Ball And We're Gonna Score!) Our WR's were fairly nameless and you never knew if they were going to drop a catch or barely hang onto it. The defense had talent but was streaky and didn't have any solid names other than Tatupu. We won too many games on the leg of Josh Brown. No one really felt threatened by Seattle. Everyone thought "That's so cute they finally made it to the SB."

This Carroll-era team was built to be physical, win or lose. They'll not only make you earn a win, but take away the joy in doing it by beating you up. It has destroyed the hopes and dreams of other fan bases and it's not only hated for that, but because of its attitude and success in general. In the blink of an eye, Seattle went from a team of "Where the hell is Seattle? Who are those guys?" to "God I hate that team and its fans."

All of the above, plus we have seen this team assembled from scratch. Our entire roster is made of "our guys" (21 of 53 were undrafted), and even the newest FA's (like Bennett and Avril) have the feel of being long-time Seahawks. The Dynasty's origins have been built before our eyes, and it has no discernible weaknesses.

The Personalities, the building of the squad from meager beginnings, the personal stories. There is a veritable smorgasbord of human interest stories to this team. From Michael Robinson's return from Illness, to Chris Clemons return from injury, the suspensions, The QB no one wanted, the hearing impaired Running back, the cornerback from Compton who set the world afire with his words, to the running back from Oakland who did the same with his silence. There is so much to love about this team. I can honestly say that I have never felt so connected to a team on a personal level as I do with this one.

Evil_Shenanigans wrote:The Personalities, the building of the squad from meager beginnings, the personal stories. There is a veritable smorgasbord of human interest stories to this team. From Michael Robinson's return from Illness, to Chris Clemons return from injury, the suspensions, The QB no one wanted, the hearing impaired Running back, the cornerback from Compton who set the world afire with his words, to the running back from Oakland who did the same with his silence. There is so much to love about this team. I can honestly say that I have never felt so connected to a team on a personal level as I do with this one.

Go Hawks!

Oh and I deeply want to shatter John Elway's dreams!

I've noticed the same thing. It's much more crazy this year. 12 signs and go hawk signs are everywhere. Even the homeless guy has his change bucket wrapped in an "I'm In" poster. My favorite was a binary sign in a downtown Bellevue office window, "0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0th Man". And for all the reasons you've mentioned above this team has more cross over appeal to the casual and non fan than the 06 team. Loving it!

Go Hawks!

Russell has some stats that aren't Superb? Ow! Love his balls anyways!

I think people hit on a few reasons why. I would like to add my own reason: We had the Sonics in '05/'06 and we don't have them now. That loss - really, all of 2008, which was just MISERABLE for Seattle (Sonics were stolen, UW football went 0-12, Ms lost 100 games with a $100M payroll, Seahawks went 4-12) - seemed to make this city more aware of how starved it is for some sports success.

A win tomorrow wouldn't make up completely for 2008, but it would be a cooling balm that heals a lot of old Seattle sports wounds.

Colin Kaepernick is a great person, something that the NFL is sorely lacking.

We were good enough in 2005 and overpowered people with our running game. We weren't deep enough on the defensive side of the ball; our 2005 D overachieved, held together by chewing gum and baling twine and the fact that that amazing 2005 offense kept them from being under pressure a lot of the time.

The team personalities and team media relations in 2005 didn't grab the national media by the balls and have their way with them the way this team has.

Wilson & Sherman have forced their way onto the national media map, and love or hate is irrelevant, as long as there's attention and plenty of it. Skip Bayless, Trent Dilfer, Marshall Faulk, Kurt Warner, whether they're dissing the Seahawks or praising them is irrelevant, as long as they are talking about us.

The fan energy is off the charts, even more so than 2005. I never saw the level of total regional fanbase involvement in 2005 that I'm seeing this year. It's just unbelievable. Tons of people at my work who didn't care one way or the other 2 years ago came in this Friday with Seahawks gear, faces painted, tailgate parties, etc. Ask them to name more than 3 offensive linemen and you'd probably get a blank stare and maybe one or two names, but boy are they passionate fans. People are looking for *something* to identify with and celebrate. I won a lot of bets with coworkers by taking the Seahawks last year (especially on GB, Patriots, 49ers games) but nobody will bet against them this year.

I'll have to try the more-than-3-offensive linemen quiz and see what the results are. I figure Okung, Giacomini, and Unger get a certain amount of attention, but to name Bowie, Bailey, McQuistan, JeanPierre, and Carpenter, someone would need to be more than a this-year's bandwagon-jumper. Not dissing bandwagon jumpers, by the way; the more the merrier.

This time, all the pieces are in place, on the field, and off the field, to seal the deal. I have a really good feeling about how things will turn out.